Battle Royale バトル・ロワイアル 大逃殺

 Released Year: 2000

Directed by 深作欣二 Kinji Fukasaku

Casted by:

藤原龍也 Tatsuya Fujiwara as 七原秋也 Shuya Nanahara

前田亞季 Aki Maeda as 中川典子 Noriko Nakagawa

北野武 Takeshi Kitano as 北野老師 Kitano

山本太郎 Taro Yamamoto as 川田章吾 Shogo Kawada

安藤政信 Masanobu Ando as 桐山和雄 Kazuo Kiriyama

柴咲幸 Kou Shibasaki as 相馬光子 Mitsuko Souma

塚本高史 Takashi Tsukamoto as 三村信史 Shinji Mimura

高岡蒼甫 Sosuke Takaoka as 杉村弘樹 Hiroki Sugimura

栗山千明 Chiaki Kuriyama as 千草貴子 Takako Chigusa

 Story: 

Japanese middle school student Shuya Nanahara copes with life after his father's suicide. Meanwhile, schoolmate Noriko Nakagawa is the only student attending class 3-B. Their teacher, Kitano, resigns after being impulsively attacked by a student.

One year later, class 3-B takes a field trip, but they are gassed, fitted with electronic collars, and sent to a "briefing room" on a remote island. Kitano explains that the class has been chosen to participate in the annual Battle Royale as a result of the BR Act, which was passed after 800,000 students walked out of school. A cheerful orientation video instructs the class they have three days to kill each other until only one remains. The explosive collars will kill any uncooperative students or those within daily "danger zones". Kitano kills two students for misbehavior during the video, including Shuya's best friend, Nobu. Each student is provided a bag of food and water, map of the island, compass, and a weapon ranging in efficiency from firearms to a paper fan.

The program's first six hours see twelve deaths, two by suicide. Mitsuko Souma and mute transfer student Kazuo Kiriyama soon become the most dangerous players, while another transfer student, Shogo Kawada, seems somewhat more merciful. Shinji Mimura plots to hack into the military's computer system. Amid shifting loyalties and violent confrontations, Shuya promises to keep Noriko safe, because his friend secretly loved her. Shuya carries Noriko to a clinic after she collapses, where they encounter Kawada, who reveals that he won a previous Battle Royale at the cost of his girlfriend, whose death he seeks to avenge. When Kiriyama attacks, Shuya entrusts Kawada to protect Noriko and runs off as a distraction. Although saved by another student, he is wounded.

Shuya awakens in the island's lighthouse, bandaged by female class representative Yukie Utsumi, who has a crush on him. Five other girls from her clique have also been hiding out in the building, including Yuko Sakaki, who attempts to poison Shuya only for another girl to accidentally eat the food. Yuko is the only survivor of the resulting shootout; despondent, she apologises to Shuya and commits suicide. Shuya returns to Noriko and Kawada, and they set out to find Mimura. Of the seven students remaining, all except Kiriyama are attempting or willing to subvert the game. Mimura and two others infiltrate the military's computer system, but Kiriyama finds and kills them. When Kawada, Noriko and Shuya arrive at the hackers' burning base, Kawada confronts and kills Kiriyama, who had been blinded by an explosion rigged by Mimura as he was killed.

On the morning of the final day, Kawada, aware of the collars' internal microphones, takes Shuya and Noriko aside and fakes their deaths. Suspicious, Kitano ends the game and dismisses the troops, intent on personally killing the supposed victor. Kitano realizes that Kawada had hacked into the game's system months beforehand, and has now disabled Shuya and Noriko's tracking devices. The three survivors confront Kitano in the headquarters, and he unveils a disturbing homemade painting of the massacred class that depicts Noriko as sole survivor. He reveals that he was unable to bear the hatred between him and his students, having been rejected by his daughter. He confesses that he always thought of Noriko as a daughter and asks her to kill him, but Shuya shoots Kitano after he threatens Noriko with a gun. As he falls, Kitano shoots, revealing that it is a water gun. As he dies, Kitano angrily takes a call from his daughter and rebukes her.

Shuya, Noriko and Kawada leave the island on a boat, but Kawada dies from injuries sustained in his gunfight with Kiriyama – "glad" that in the end, he "found true friends." Shuya and Noriko are declared fugitive murderers, and are last seen on the run in the direction of Tokyo's Shibuya train station. Noriko gives Shuya a Seto Dragon Claw balisong before they run off together.

 L² Scored: 10/10

L² Comment:

This is my all time favorite Japanese movie ever :) Love the whole storyline, the friendship, the love, the trust, the dis-trust, the betray, the hope, the regret... everything is perfectly shown how's the Jap culture is so much different when they come to this kind of situation. Some of u might figure out that hunger game is actually copying this, but the Jap version is way way better~ trust me...

The Great Yokai War / The Big Spook War ようかいだいせんそう 妖怪大戦争 2005

Released Year: 2005
Directed by 三池崇史 Takashi Miike

Casted by:
神木隆之介 Ryunosuke Kamiki as 稲生正 / 麒麟送子 Tadashi Ino
高橋真唯 Mai Takahashi as 川姫 Kawahime
近藤正臣 Masaomi Kondo as 猩猩 Shōjō
阿部貞夫 Sadao Abe as 川太郎 Kawataro
豊川悦司 Etsushi Toyokawa as 加藤保憲 Yasunori Kato
栗山千明 Chiaki Kuriyama as 刺鳥妖女阿木 Agi, The Bird-Catching Sprite

Story:

A young boy named Tadashi Ino moves to a small town after his parents' divorce. At a local festival, he is chosen to be that year's "Kirin Rider," a protector of all things good. He soon discovers that his new title is quite literal, as a nefarious spirit named Yasunori Kato appears. Originally a human who became a demon from the strength of his hatred for humans, Kato desires vengeance against their actions on the Yokai. To carry out his revenge, Kato allies himself with a Yokai named Agi while he summons a fiery spirit called Yomotsumono, composed of the resentment of the many things which mankind has discarded. With Yomotsumono's flames, Kato feeds it Yokai which are used as ingredients in creating violent junkyard Tsukumogami under his control that capture other Yokai to build their numbers while killing humans. One such Yokai, Sunekosuri, escaped and befriended Tadashi who attempts to obtain the Daitenguken from the mountain as part of being the Kirin Rider. However, he wimped out at the last second and with trickery by Shōjō, who picked Tadashi out, the boy overcame the test. Accompanied by Shōjō, Kawahime, and Kawataro, Tadashi makes his way to the DaiTengu who gives him a sword before being taken away by the Tsukumogami. In spite of Tadashi's attempts, the sword is broken as Agi takes Sunekosuri as her captive before the boy is knocked unconscious.

When the boy comes to his senses, he finds himself among Yokai as they discuss how to fix the sword, deciding to get the aid of the blacksmith Ippon-datara. But learning he was also captured, General Nurarihyon and his group leave; Kawataro restrains an Ittan-momen while praising Azukiarai, unaware that he only remained behind due to his foot getting numb. When Kato's industrial fortress takes flight towards Tokyo, Tadashi and company pursue it and arrive after the fortress ingested Tokyo's Shinjuku Capital Building, finding Ippon-datara who reforges the sword while avoiding to talk about how he escaped thanks to Sunekosuri who took his place in becoming a Tsukumogami. Donning new attire, Tadashi and company are outnumbered until they receive unlikely aid from thousands of Yokai who believe they are coming to a party; their festival brawl with Tsukumogami allows Tadashi and Kawahime to enter the fortress safely, followed by a Yokai-obsessed reporter named Sata whom Kawahime saved in the past.

Forced to slay the Tsukumogami that Sunekosuri became, restored to normal yet hanging on for dear life, Tadashi battles Agi in rage before she is called back by Kato to begin the final phase by joining with Yomotsumono. Despite Tadashi's attempts, Kato proves to be superior as Kawahime attempts to protect the boy, admitting to her hatred for humans for being abandoned when she first came into being, but will never resort to a human emotion - revenge. Unfazed, Kato takes the two out as Azukiarai awkwardly arrives and the villain calls Agi to join him. However, her love for him is a hindrance to the process, so Kato kills her instead before entering the oven to become one with Yomotsumono. However, due to Sata's actions, one of Azukiarai's Azuki beans ends up in the mix with Kato, causing a chain reaction of positive emotion that destroys Yomotsumono. After the Yokai take their leave, Tadashi and Sata find themselves on the street and the boy tells his first white lie to the reporter about Kawahime's feelings towards him. Years later, Tadashi is a grown man who lost the ability to see Yokai, even Sunekosuri who is at the end confronted by an Azuki-pupiled Kato.

L² Scored: 7.5/10

L² Comment:

I always love the Japanese's monsters, and it is so cool to watch them in the movie :) Love their story individually but as i know some of them are quite useless if they really existed in the human world~ lol... Overall the storyline is ok and i really enjoy it

Kill Bill Volume 1

 Released Year: 2003

Directed by Quentin Tarantino

Casted by:

Uma Thurman as The Bride (Black Mamba)

Lucy Liu as O-Ren Ishii (Cottonmouth)

Vivica A. Fox as Vernita Green (Copperhead)

Michael Madsen as Budd (Sidewinder)

Daryl Hannah as Elle Driver (California Mountain Snake)

Julie Dreyfus as Sofie Fatale

Sonny Chiba as Hattori Hanzo

劉家輝 Gordon Liu as Johnny Mo

栗山千明 Chiaki Kuriyama as Gogo Yubari

 Story: 

An intertitle displays the proverb "Revenge is a dish best served cold". A pregnant woman, known as "The Bride", lies badly wounded at her wedding, telling an unseen Bill that she is carrying his baby as Bill shoots her in the head. However, it is later revealed that she miraculously survives the headshot, but was left comatose for four years.

The Bride's second revenge killing is shown some time after her recovery. The Bride finds Vernita Green at her home and fights her, but they cease after Vernita's young daughter Nikki arrives from school. It is revealed that both women are former members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, elite assassins under the employ of Bill. Bill and the Deadly Vipers had attacked The Bride at her wedding. While the two women are talking in the kitchen during their truce, Vernita attempts to kill The Bride with a pistol hidden in a box of "Kaboom" cereal. The shot misses the Bride, who retaliates by throwing a knife to Vernita's chest; she dies slowly. When the Bride notices Nikki standing in the doorway, she offers Nikki revenge should she seek it as an adult, then leaves. The Bride then strikes Vernita's name off a checklist; the name "O-Ren Ishii" has already been crossed out.

Going back to the time of her coma, another member of the Deadly Vipers, the one-eyed Elle Driver, enters The Bride's hospital room where she lies comatose, and prepares a lethal injection. Driver is interrupted by Bill on the phone, who states they will take action only if she awakes. Four years later, the Bride awakens and is horrified to discover that she is no longer pregnant. Meanwhile, she learns that a hospital worker named Buck has been raping her in her comatose state, and accepting cash from those who wish the chance to do the same. While a trucker is preparing to assault her, the Bride bites off his tongue, killing him. She then incapacitates and kills Buck by repeatedly smashing his head between a door and its jamb, and steals Buck's truck. She swears revenge, and picks her first target: O-Ren Ishii, who has since become the leader of the Tokyo yakuza.

Once she recovers, the Bride travels to Okinawa to obtain a sword from legendary swordsmith Hattori Hanzō, who has sworn never to forge a sword again. After learning that her target is his former student, Bill, he agrees he is morally obligated to forge his finest sword for her. The Bride tracks down O-Ren at a Tokyo nightclub, challenging her to a fight and severing the arm of Sofie Fatale, O-Ren's assistant and a protégée of Bill's. She then fights off O-Ren's Yakuza army, including the elite "Crazy 88" squad and O-Ren's personal bodyguard, 17-year-old sadist Gogo Yubari, before dueling O-Ren in a snow-draped Japanese garden and killing her. She finally tortures Sofie into revealing information about Bill, leaving Sofie alive to tell Bill that the Bride is coming to kill him and the others. Bill asks Sofie whether the Bride knows that her daughter is, in fact, still alive.

 L² Scored: 10/10

L² Comment:

Gosh, this is such an awesome awesome movie... i should have watch it years ago, damn me!!! Uma Thurman & Lucy Liu is fighting their bitch paws off at each other and i totally love it~ the storyline is interesting and i was simply amazed with it...